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EXCURSION 

PLANNED FOR THE 

CITY HISTORY CLUB 

OF 

NEW YORK 

BY 

FRANK BERGEN KELLEY 

No. VM. NEW YORK CITY SOUTH OF WALL STREET 

Reprinted from the Historical Quide to the City of New York 
Published by Frederick A. Stokes Co. 

Revised 1912 
PRICE, 10 CENTS 

Mailed on receipt of price by Secretary, City History Club 
21 W. 44th Street 



Copyright, 1898 and igos, by the City History Club of New Yorl< 



CoUected seU 



HISTORICAL GUIDE 



f\> 






-7 




Plate IV. Redrawn from Innes' Map of 1644. C". A'. 

(From "New AmsterJam and Its People," by J. 11. Innes. Charles Scribner's 

Sons). 



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HISTORICAL GUIDE 



^3/V/ 




Plate V, Routes i, 2, 3, 4. 



C. K. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

*' The Dutch Founding of New York," by Janvier. 

" New Amsterdam and Its People," by Innes. 

" A Landmark History of New York," by Ulmann. 

" Nooks and Corners of Old New York," by Hemstreet. 

" When Old New York was Young," by Hemstreet. 

" Literary Landmarks in New York," by Hemstreet. 

"In Old New York" (articles on "The Evolution of New York" 
and "The Battery"), by Janvier. 

" New York Old and New," by R. R. Wilson. 

"The Story of a Street" (Wall Street), by Hill. 

" Felix Oldboy's Walks in Our Churchyards," by Mines. 

" History of Trinity Parish," Dix. 

Reports of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society 
(articles on " The Battery," " Castle Garden," " The Fort George 
Latitude Monument," etc.). 

" Historic New York," 2 vols, (papers on " Fort Amsterdam," 
"Bowling Green," "The Stadt Huys," "Old Wells," "Early Wall 
Street," " The New York Press," " Early Schools " and " Governor's 
Island "). 

This Excursion might be called " A walk through New Amsterdam," but for 
the fact that the section once known as New Amsterdam, and bounded by 
Greenwich, State, Pearl and Wall Streets, contains many English and Revolu- 
tionary traces as well as those of Dutch interest. 

To complete a survey of Dutch traces, the journey should be continued up 
Broadway, Park Row and the Bowery to the region of Stuyvesant's Bouwerie 
(Excursion III.). 

Before taking this itinerary, read Mr. L'lmann's article, p. 3, 
" New York's Development." 

See also " Broadway," by Stephen Jenkins. 

Note. — The * refers to Addenda, 1912, on pages 37. 38. 



Bowling Green MANHATTAN i Route 

ROUTE I. 

SECTION I— AROUND BOWLING GREEN. 

(Figures refer to Plate V; compare with Plates II, III, IV, VT, 
VII, and VITI). 

Take Elevated R. R. or Broadzt'ay car to Battery Plaec, or Siibzvay to 
Bowling Green. 

The original Hudson River Shore Line approximately followed Greenwich 
Street and the line of the Ninth Avenue Elevated Railroad to the vicinity of 
South Ferry Station. Greenwich Street (laid out about 1760) was the shore 
road to Greenwich Village (Excursion II). The map of 1695 shows palisades 
along (ireenwich Street connected at the north with the wall on Wall Street. 
Remains of old posts were dug up when the foundations of the Bowling Green 
Offices were laid. 

Battery Place was the western extension of Marketfield Street 
and derives its name from the battery erected here in English days. 
(Section IV.) Note the old buildings at the foot of Greenwich and 
Washington Streets.* i 

Go up Broadway. 

Broadway was called the Heere Straat, the Heere IVcgli and the 
Broad U'ay, and extended to Ann Street where it turned east and up 
Nassau Street to Park Row. 

I. Tablet -on the Washington Building, i Broadway, erected by 
the Sons of the Revolution to mark the site of the Kennedy House, 
built about 1760 by Captain Archibald Kennedy, R. N., a member of 
the Governor's Council and Collector of the Port, later eleventh Earl 
of Cassilis. It was occupied during the Revolution by Putnam, 
" King " Sears, Generals Clinton and Carleton, but not by Washing- 
ton, whose headquarters before September 14, 1776, were at Rich- 
mond Hill (Excursion II). Later it was owned by Nathaniel Prime 
and became the Washington Hotel. The Washington Building was 
erected by Cyrus W. Field and from its tower and roof can be 
gained fine views of the harbor. Robert Fulton died in a house which 
stood just at . the rear. 

9 and II Broadway are on the site of the tavern of Martin Cregier, a Dutch 
burgomaster, and of the King's Arms Tavern or Burns' Coffee House, where the 
Non-Importation Agreement was signed by New York merchants in 1766 (by 
some located at 113 Broadway). Benedict Arnold had his quarters here for a 
time. 

Note. So says Valentine, but Innes claims that Cregier's second house was 
on the site of 3 Broadway, and doubts whether he kept tavern here. There is 
also reason to doubt whether the name Burns' Coffee House applied to the 
King's Anns Tavern. 

15 



HISTORICAL GUIDE 




I6 



Bowling Green MANHATTAN i Route 

2. 19 Broadway (see the sleeping lions on the stoop) was once 
the home of Daniel Webster. 

3. 27 Broadway, the Stevens House, was the property of the 
founder of the Stevens Institute. * la. 

Morris Street was the open way to Bayard's Brewery. South of it lay the 
original Dutch burying ground. On the west side of Broadway were private 

residences during colonial days, and shops on the east side. 

4. Bowling Green, the heart of New Amsterdam and the center 
(north and south) of the Geater New York. Here some believe Peter 
Minuit purchased the Island of Manhattan in 1626. - It was known as 
the Plaine and the Marckveldt in Dutch days and later as the Market 
Field and the Parade. Here were held the Dutch weekly market and 
annual kermess, and here the soldiers of the fort paraded. In 1732 
it was ordered fenced in and was leased at one peppercorn a year 
for eleven years to three citizens for a private Bowling Green, the 
lease being renewed for a second eleven years, at 20 shillings per 
annum.* 2 

The Stamp Act Riot centered here in 1765, when Gov. Colden's 
coach, containing his effigy, was burned. Here, in 1770, was set up 
the gilded leaden equestrian statue of George III (made in London; 
by Wilton, who also made a replica), which was torn down by the 
mob July 9, 1776, after the reading of the Declaration of Independence. 
The lead was converted into bullets for the patriots, but the stone 
cap of the pedestal and the tail and bridle of the horse may j'et be 
seen in the rooms of the New York Flistorical Society. The stone 
cap was used as a tombstone to mark the remains of Captain J. 
Smith (see the inscription upon its face), and later was used as 
a doorstep by the Van Voorst family of Jersey City. The leaden 
pieces were dug up on a farm in Connecticut. The head of the 
statue was rescued by Cox, the proprietor of the tavern at Kings- 
bridge, and later given up to the Britisli authorities. 

The iron fence was brought from England in 1771; the iron 
balls crowning the posts were broken off during the Revolution. 

Here the Federal Procession of 1787 was reviewed by Washington, 
and the Federal Shil> of State, made and presented by the ship car- 
penters of New York, remained on the Bowling Green until 1789. 
Here, in 1794, occurred a riotous public meeting to protest against 
the Jay Treaty. About 1797 the Green assumed its present oval form. 
See the bronze statue of Abraham de Peyster, Mayor in 1691-5, and 
holder of many colonial offices 1685-1721. It was erected by John 
Watts de Peyster, George E. Bissell, sculptor. 

17 



HISTORICAL GUIDE 




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Bowling Green MANHATTAN i Route 

5. Custom House, site of Fort Amsterdam. A traders' fort, 
the original log blockhouse of 1615, probably occupied this site. Fort 
Amsterdam was begun in 1626, by Minuit, and was completed in 
1633-5 hy a structure of earth and stone with four bastions, the main 
gate opening on the Bowling Green. The fort contained the Director- 
General's house and the Church of St. Nicholas, or the Church in the 
Fort, erected in 1642, and mother of the Collegiate Dutch churches. 
To honor the rulers of the Colony the name of the fort was changed 
successively to James, William Hendrick, William, Anne and George. 

After the demolition of the fort In 1790 the Government House 
was erected here as a presidential mansion, but was occupied by 
Governors Clinton and Jay. Later it was used as a custom house and 
was burned in 1815, when the land was sold and private residences 
erected thereon, which afterwards became known as Steamship Rozhk 
In 1902-7 the present Custom House was erected, Cass Gilbert, 
architect. Sec in the Collector's Office an inscription over the fire- 
place stating the history of the site. The statuary on the building 
is by D. C. French and represents the continents and the great 
trading nations of ancient and modern times.* 3 

In Battery Park, opposite the west side of the Custom House, 
see the 

6. Fort George Monument, erected in 1818 by the City Cor- 
poration to mark the site of the southwest bastion of Fort George. 
This stone was unearthed during the excavation for the subway and 
was reinstated in 1907 through the action of the American Scenic 
and Historic Preservation Society and the New York His,torical So- 
ciety. 

Go down State Street to Whitehall Street, passing 

7. Tablet at 10 Pearl Street, near State Street, erected by the 
Holland Dames of New Netherlands, incorrectly placed here to mark 
the site of the first city hall (see 33). 

8. 7 State Street, now a home for immigrant girls, one of 
the mansions of a century ago, on what was in 1800 one of the 
most fashionable residential streets. ' 

9 State Street 15 the site of the home of John Morton, the " rebel banker." 

I 

19 



Route I HISTORICAL GUIDE Bowling 

9. Tablet, at 51 Whitehall Street, erected in 1904 b\- the 
Mary Washington Colonial Chapter of the Daughters of the Ameri- 
can Revolution, marks the site of Whitehall Ferry, where Washing- 
ton made his departure from New York in 178.3. 

Schreyers' Hoek or Capske was the name given to the extreme end of the 
island, in commemoration of the Schreyers' Iloek in Amsterdam from which 
ships set sail for America. Capske Rocks lay just south, beyond the original 
shore line. They were uncovered during the recent excavation for the 
South Ferry subway station. 

Go north on Whitehall Street. 

Whitehall Street was named for 

ID. Governor Stuyvesant's House, erected in 1658, later called the 
White Hall which stood on what is now the southwest corner of 
Pearl and Whitehall Streets. In Dutch times it was called the 
Marckvcldt, later Beurs or Exchange Street.* 4 

Perel Stract in Dutch days extended east only as far as Whitehall 
Street, and was probably so called because of the " pearly shells " 
found near it on the beach. It was laid out in 1633 and some of the 
first Dutch houses were built along it, under the guns of the fort. 
Pearl Street east of Whitehall Street was here called the Strand. 
The site of the 

11. First (wooden) Dutch Church was at 39 Pearl Street, not at 33, as is 
often stated. 

12. Tablet, at 23 Whitehall Street, erected in 1902 by the 
Knickerbocker Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, to 
mark the site of the house of Dominie Bogardus, whose wife, Anneke 
Jans, owned the farm which became the property of Trinity Church. 



Go east on Stone Street. 

Stone Street was first known as Brouwer Street, because on it was the 
Company's brewery (at No. lo); it was called Stone Street from the fact that 
it was the first New York street to be paved (with cobblestones in 1657). 
.^dam Roelandsen taught the first school 01 New Amsterdam in his house on 
this street (about No. 7).*s 

The West India Company's ti'^e stone shops were on the site of the Merchants' 
Building. 



Go through the Stone Street entrance of the Produce Exchange, 

20 



Green MANHATTAN i Route 

13. Tablet (on the rear wall of the Produce Exchange, facing 
the court), erected by the Huguenot Society of America to mark 
the site of the first Huguenot Church, built in 1688. 

The IVhite Horse Inn was at the northeast corner of Stone and Whitehall 
Streets. 

14. Marketfield Street is the little street facing the court of 
the Produce Exchange and in Dutch days was known as Marckveldt 
Steegie (lane) when it connected with the Marckveldt proper. In 
English days it was called Petticoat Lane, possibly because it was a 
favorite shopping district for the ladies. 

Co north on New Street. 

New Street was so called because opened later than other 
streets in the vicinity (1679). 

Co west on Exchange Place and dozen Broadway. 

Note the hill, a trace of VerlettenhergJi (Verlett's Hill), corrupted 
to Flatten Barrack by the English ; once a favorite coasting place. 

15. Tablet, at 50 Broadway, erected by the Society of Archi- 
tecture and Ironmasters of New York, on the Tower Building to 
mark it as the earliest example of a skeleton-frame steel structure, 
originated and designed in 1888-9 by Bradford Lee Gilbert. 

16. Tablet, 41 Broadway, erected by the Holland Society, to 
mark the site of the first white men's houses in Manhattan. They 
were built in 16T3 by Adrian Block who, when hii ship, the Tiger, 
was burned, built the Unrest near this spot. 

Note. — So says Booth's " History of New York." Innes locates this at the 
foot of Rooievelt Street, East Kiver. The brook running to the foot of Roose- 
velt Street was long known as the Old Wreck Brook, and the cove at this part 
of the East River shore might well have furnished shelter to a small craft 
during winter storms. 

39 Broadway is the site of the McComb Mansion, where Washington lived 
in 1790. Note the irregular frontage of buildings north, authorized by the city 
government. 

17. Revolutionary cannon, 55 Broadway, forming part of the 
exterior railing. 

See the statues, by J. Massey Rhind, of Clinton, Wolfe, Stuyvesant 
and Hudson on Exchange Court, 52-56 Broadway. 

21 



Route I HISTORICAL GUIDE Bowling Green 

Go down 

Exchange Alley, by some supposed to be the old Tin Pot Alley 
(Tuyn Paat or Garden Lane), marked by a terra cotta tablet at the 
corner of Broadway. 

Valentine refers the name to 

i8. Edgar Street, connecting Trinity Place and Greenwich 
Street, one of the shortest streets in the city. See old residences and 
the Hotel Gruetli on the west side of Trinity Place. 

Edgar Street led to the Edgar Mansion on Greenwich Street, where April 
8, 1834, Daniel Webster made an address to the people on the inauguration 
of Cornelius W. Lawrence, first elected Mayor of New York. 

The West India Comf'any's Orchard and Garden occupied the land north of 
Exchange alley and west of Broadway. 



22 



Trinity MANHATTAN 2 Route 

ROUTE 2. 

SECTION 11— TRINITY CHURCH AND WALL STREET. 

19. Trinity Church. Original building 1696-7; burned in the 
great fire of 1776; rebuilt 1788-90; present building 1839-46, Richard 
Upjohn, architect. (See "The Church Farm" in Excursion II). 
The bronze doors designed by St. Gaudens (the gift of W. W. As- 
tor) representing Biblical and local historic scenes, and the Astor 
Reredos (the gift of J. J. and Wm. Astor). In a passageway at 
the north of the Chancel are the effigy of Bishop Onderdonck, me- 
morial windows to other bishops and some stones from the old 
building. In the sacristy at the south side are several pictures and 
memorial tablets including one to a party of Scotchmen who were 
shipwrecked off the coast of Sandy Hook in 1783. 

Among the Trinity tombs not indexed are those of Francis and 
Morgan Lewis, the English governors Sir Henry Moore, Osborne 
and Delancey and the wife of Governor Clarke. Note the elevation 
of the yard above Trinity Place, a trace of the original bluffs 
along the Hudson River shore at this point. 

The Lutheran Church (1671-1776) stood at the corner of Rector Street and 
Broadway, tliis spot afterwards being the location of Grace Episcopal Church, 
1808-46. 



2Z 



HISTORICAL GUIDE 




24 



TRINITY CHURCHYARD. 
Index to Monuments in Trinity Churchyard. 



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Route 2 HISTORICAL GUIDE Wall 

Go cast on 

Wall Street, so called from the palisade built in 1653 by Stuy- 
vesant to defend New Amsterdam, and removed in 1699 when some 
of the material was worked into the new City Hall. The Land 
Poort, or gate, was at Broadway and the Water Poort at Pearl Street 
where a Half Moon Battery was located. Bastions stood on the sites 
of the rear of Trinity Churchyard, 4 Wall Street, the Sub-Treasury, 
44 Wall Street and the head of Hanover Street. In 1673 the western 
line of the palisade was turned south to the shore at Rector Street, 
the wall was surveyed and Wall Street officially established in 1685 
by Governor Dongan.* 7 

20. Site of the First Presbyterian Church, just east of the head 
of New Street. Here Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield 
preached. The building was used as a hospital by the British during 
the Revolution. (Excursion II, 17, and Excursion V, Section 1:10.) 

Note the jog in the sidewalk at the northwest corner of Nassau 
Street (old Piezvonian's Lane or Kip Street) over which Federal 
Hall projected. 

21. The Sub-Treasury, on the site of the Colonial City Hall 
(1699-1812). The old building contained the Court Rooms, Common 
Council Chamber, jail, a debtors' prison, accommodations for the 
fire department and a library, the predecessor of the New York So- 
ciety Library. In front, at the head of Broad Street, stood the cage, 
pillory, stocks and whipping post. Here was won the Zenger Case 
securing the freedom of the press, and here, in 1765, the Stamp Act 
Congress met. In 1785 it was used as the State Capitol and here the 
Continental Congress met. In 1788 the building was reconstructed 
by Major Pierre Charles I'Enfant (who later planned the City of 
Washington) and was known as Federal Hall. It was used by the 
first Congress under the Constitution. Here Washington took the 
oath of ofiice on April 30, 1789. When the capital was removed to 
Philadelphia, this building became the State Capitol and so remained 
until 1797. 

Here, in 1804, the New York Historical Society was founded. In 
1812 the building was torn down and the present building erected 
as the Custom House which in 1862 was remodeled for a Sub- 
Treasury. Note the statue of Washington by J. Q. A. Ward, erected 
jn 1883 by public subscription under the auspices of the Chamber 

26 



Street 



MANHATTAN 



2 Route 




27 



Route 2 HISTORICAL GUIDE Wall 

of Commerce. At tlie foot of this statue there was formerly a great 
slab of brown stone on which Washington stood while taking the 
oath of office. It has been enclosed in a bronze frame, covered with 
glass and placed upon the south wall of the interior of the building. 
Part of the railing of the balcony frorn which Washington delivered 
his first inaugural address is in the building of the New York His- 
torical Society and a second part is in front of Bellevue Hospital. The 
tablet on the west front of the Sub-Treasury was erected in 1905 by 
the Ohio Company of Associates to commemorate the passage by the 
Congress here assembled in 1787 of the Ordinance of 1787, and the 
purchase by the Ohio Company of Associates of lands in the North- 
west Territory on which, in 1788, they made their first settlement at 
Marietta. 

The tablet on the east front represents Washington in prayer at 
Valley Forge (presented by John T. Clancy; J. E. Kelley, sculptor), 
erected February 22, 1907, by Lafayette Post, No. 140, G. A. R. 

22. The U. S. Assay Office, 32 Wall Street, built in 1823 on 
the site of the Verplanck mansion, formerly used as the United States 
Bank and Treasury, is the oldest federal building now standing in 
Manhattan. Alexander Hamilton's law office stood at 33 (formerly 
57) Wall Street, on the site of the Mechanics' National Bank. 

23. Bank of the Manhattan Company, 40 Wall Street, the 
second oldest bank of New York, founded by the Manhattan Com- 
pany in 1799 which, by the aid of Aaron Burr, was chartered ostensibly 
to supply New York with drinking water. Within the bank is a piece 
of the old wooden water pipe; the Manhattan water tank still stands 
on Centre Street, near Duane (Excursion ni:23). 

The Merchants' Bank, 42 Wall Street, is the third oldest bank, 
organized in 1803. 

24. The corner stone oi" the Bank of New York is at the 

northeast corner of Wall and William Streets and bears the following 
inscription : " This corner-stone of the Bank of New York was laid 
June 22, 1797, by Gulian Verplanck, Esq., the President, Geo. Doolett, 
Architect." This is the oldest New York bank and one of the oldest 
three in the United States. It was founded by Alexander Hamilton 
and others in 1784, at the Merchants' Coffee House.* 7 

On the corner of Wall and William Streets (near Governor Tryon's 
house) stood the marble statue of William Pitt, erected there in 
1770 to honor his defence of the rights of the colonists. It was 

28 



Street MANHATTAN 2 Route 

mutilated by British soldiers and may now be seen in the building of 
the New York Historical Society. 

At 52 Wall Street, in the Directors' Room of the New York Life 
Insurance and Trust Company, is the corner stone of the United 
States Branch Bank, which formerly occupied this site. The stone 
is dated June 13, 1797. 

25. Tablet, 56 Wall Street, erected by the Canadian Society 
of New York, in 1903, to commemorate Morris Robinson, first 
president of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, who 
here established the business of modern life insurance on the American 
Continent. 

26. The old U. S. Custom House (now remodeled and the 
property of the National City Bank) occupies the site of the Mer- 
rliaiits' Exchange (burnt in the fire of 1835) ; became the Custom 
House in 1862. 

27. Tontine Building, Wall Street, between Pearl and Water 
Streets, is on the site of the Tontine Coffee House (1793) where the 
Chamber of Commerce and many other organizations met. 

The Merchants' Coffee House was erected in 1740 on the southeast 
corner, and the region was known as Coffee House Slip. Here were 
held several important demonstrations by the patriots before the 
Revolution. 

28. Site of the Meal Market, also used as a city slave market, in 
the middle of Wall, near Water Street. Washington landed at Mur- 
ray's Wharf near by, April 23, 1789, when he came to be inaugurated. 



29 



Route 3 HISTORICAL GUIDE Pearl Street 

ROUTE 3 

SECTION III— PEARL AND BROAD STREETS. 

This part of Pearl Street was in early days known as the Road to 
the Ferry. 

Go south on Pearl Street. 

29. At 119-121 Pearl Street lived Gen. Jean Victor Moreau, 
who tried to assassinate Napoleon Bonaparte. Captain Kidd lived on 
the same site about 1691. 

Hanover Square, named for George I of Hanover, was the 
fashionable center, and " Printing House Square " of English New 
York. 

30. Tablet on Cotton Exchange, erected by the New York 
Historical Society, to mark the site of the first New York newspaper 
office, Bradford's New York Gazette, 1725. Other papers were pub- 
lished near by. 

William Street (named for William of Orange, later William 
III), between Stone and Pearl Streets, was Burger's Path. North of 
Stone Street it was Smee or Smith Street, opened 1656-7. 

31. Marble tablet, 90 Pearl Street, commemorates the great 
fire of 1835, which destroyed $20,000,000 worth of property, between 
Wall Street (the old Merchants' Exchange) and Coenties Slip, and 
led to the more rapid completion of the Croton Aqueduct. 

2,2. Tablet, 81 Pearl Street, erected by the New York Historical 
Society, marks the site of Bradford's first printing press (1693). 

33. Tablet, 72, Pearl Street, erected by the Holland Society, to 
mark the site of Kieft's Stadt Herbergh or Tavern (1641-2), which 
became the Stadt Huys, or first City Hall of New York (1653-4). 

Coenties Alley, or Stadt Huys Lane, is the original street from 
the shore to Hoogh (Stone) Street. The Stadt Pluys was used as 
a jail, debtors' prison, court house, city hall and public storehouse. 
Governor Lovelace had a tavern next door. A well, pillory and stocks 
were located on the river shore in front of the Stadt Huys. 

34. Coenties Slip is named for Conraet (" Coenties ") Ten 
Eyck, who lived here. The " Slip " was not filled in until about 1835, 
and the site is occupied by Jeannette Park, named for the Herald 
Arctic Expedition ship. Part of the Erie Canal fleet lies here.* 8 

35. Fraunces Tavern, 52 Pearl Street, corner of Broad Street 

(see Excursion VI). 

In the middle of Broad Street, just below Fraunces Tavern, was the first 
Merchants' Exchange. 

30 



Broad Street MANHATTAN 3 Route 

Opposite Fraunces Tavern, to the west, see the Bush Terminal 
Company's building; style, eleventh century Gothic, with gargoyles 
of old mariners' heads (as the upper floor is occupied by the "Jolly 
Mariners" dining club). 

Pearl Street was the original shore line from the east side of Whitehall 
Street north. At the foot of Broad (near Pearl) Street the Great Dock was 
located in Governor Dongan's time. Gradually the shore line was extended to 
Water, I-'ront and South Streets, but the work was not completed until after 
the Revolution. 

Go up Broad Street. 

" Blommaert's Vly " was a swampy region, extending along Broad Street from 
Exchange Place to South William Street, originally imperfectly drained by a 
creek running through the present Brond Street, which the Dutch converted 
into a ditch in 1647 and the Hccre Gracht or canal in 1657. A street was laid 
out on either side of the canal, and it became a favorite residence district. 
After becoming a public nuisance, it was filled in in 1676. Traces of the swamp 
are found during the construction of tall buildings, it being necessary to ex- 
cavate many feet to secure solid foundations. At Bridge Street a small bridge 
crossed the canal. Stone Street, east of Broad Street, was the Dutch Hoogh 
or High Street, in English days Duke Street, connecting with Pearl Street at 
Hanover Square, as part of the old Road to the Ferry. 

Beaver Street, called Bever Gracht, led to the swamp in Broad Street, and 
was drained by a small canal or ditch. 

Go east on South IVilliani Street. 

36. Site of the Horse Mill or Bark Mill. 32-34 South William Street. 
This was one of the first mills built by the West India Company (1626). In 
its upper story were held the first regular religious services (1628-33) of tl>s 
Dutch Church. Here, August 29, 1664, " by eight of the clock in the morning, 
at the Old Mill," took place the final exchange of the documents marking the 
surrender of New Amsterdam to the English (Innes). It was later vised by the 
Jews until they erected their first synagogue on the opposite side of the street. 
"I'or a time the building or a part of it was occupied by the negro slaves of 
the West India Company. 

S7. Mill stones in the rear of 18 South William Street (or of 
40 Beaver Street) supposed to have been used in this mill. Two of 
these stones have been placed in the foundation of the Temple 
Shearith Israel at 99 Central Park West, in commemoration of this 
first synagogue. 

Note. — So say some writers, but Innes states that the Tews never occupied 
Bark Mill and that their synagogue was on the north side of the street and 
several doors east of the old mill. He also believes that the present m!ll_ stones 
came from a later mill in this vicinity (see article on " The Bark Mill " in 
the " Quarterly Federation of Churches," Vol. Ill, No. 5, 1905). 

38. "Mill Lane," also known as Ellets' or Elliotts' Alley (con- 
necting South William with "Stone Street), was opened in 1656-7 to 
connect Slyck Steegh with Hoogh Street. At 13 South William 
Street see house built in imitation of the old Dutch " crow-step " 
style. 

31 



Route 3 HISTORICAL GUIDE Broad Street 

Go west on Beaver Street. 

39. Ancient marble columns (brought from Pompeii) at the en- 
trance of the Dehiionico Building, South WilHam and Beaver Streets. 

40. Marinus Willett Tablet, northwest corner of Broad and 
Beaver Streets, erected in 1892 by the Sons of the Revolution to 
mark the site of the seizure of arms by the Sons of Liberty from 
British soldiers, June 6, 1775. See representation on the tablet of old 
Broad Street and Federal Hall and the medallion head of Willett. 

Go north on Broad Street, passing 

41. Site of the Neiv or South Dutch Church on Tuyen or Garden 
Street (now Exchange Place) between Broad and William Streets, 
built in 1691-3, adjoining the land of the widow of Dominie Drisius. 
The land just below Wall Street, between Broadway and Pearl Street, 
was used by the Dutch as the first common or Schaap JVaytie. 

42. New York Stock Exchange, organized in T792 by a group 
of brokers who met first under a buttonwood tree in front of 70 
Wall Street, and held daily meetings a few months later at the 
Tontine Coffee House (see 27). 

After meeting in various places the present site, 10-12 Broad Street, 
was purchased in 186,3. Traces of the old swamp made the con- 
struction of the present building (opened 1903) a difficult engineer- 
ing feat. 

The architect of the present building was George B. Post and the 
sculptor of the pediment (typifying the movement of American com- 
merce) was J. Q. A. Ward. 



32 



Battery MANHATTAN 4 Route 



, ROUTE 4. 

SECTION IV —THE BATTERY AND GOVERNOR'S 
ISLAND. 

Take Elevated R. R. to Battery Place or Subway to Bowling Green 
and walk zvest. 

The original Battery was a line- of cannon extending from the 
foot of Greenwich Street to the intersection of Whitehall and Water 
Streets. The work was begun by Governor Fletcher (1693) and 
strengthened about 1750. The land beyond this line was under water 
until after 1800. 

43. The Aquarium, built about 1807-11 as the South West Bat- 
tery, to defend New York. Land under water was ceded to the 
Congress by the city for this purpose. The fort, about 300 feet from 
shore, later called " Castle Clinton," was built on a mole and con- 
nected with the city by a bridge. The embrazures for the 30 heavy 
guns may still be seen. In 1822 it was ceded to the State and in 
1823 leased to the city and in 1824 was leased as a public amuse- 
ment hall, known as Castle Garden. It was roofed over, and was the 
scene of Lafayette's reception in 1824. In 1847 it became an opera 
house. Here Jenny Lind sang (1850) and Kossuth (1851) was re- 
ceived. In 1855 it became the Immigration Bureau (until i8gi), and 
soon afterward the remainder of the Battery Park was filled in. 
In 1896 the building was opened as an Aquarium, and was transferred 
in 1902 to the care of the New York Zoological Society. It is open 
free daily including Sundays (except Monday forenoons), from 10 
A. M. until 4 p. M. in winter and from 9 a. m. until 5 p. m. in summer. 

See within tablets, pictures of the orignal interior, bombproofs, 
the old fireplace in the cellar and the original casemates. LTpstairs see 
a blue platter presented by the Misses Earle, showing the fort in 
1815. Note the great doors and sentry's exit.* 9, 10 

44. Statue of John Ericsson (by Hartley, and presented by hini 
to the city in 1903), the inventor of the Monitor, which defeated the 
Confederate ironclad Virginia (or Merrimac), at Hampton Roads on 
March 9, 1862, and thereby saved New York from bombardment. Sec 
the commemorative tablets on the sides, representing the chief in- 
ventions of Ericsson. 

33 



Route 4 



HISTORICAL GUIDE 



Governor's 



MAP OF 
G0/£R/i/0/l5 ISLAND 



5ection4 £xc union}/// / 



/ £A TENS/OV TO <? 0^£/ZA/0/Z 3 ISL A A/U 








Plate VII. Governor's Island. 



C. K. 



45. Flagstaff, a little south of the site where Van Arsdale tore 
down the British flag from the grtfased pole and raised the American 
Flag on Evacuation Day, November 25, 1783. During the tunnel 
excavation there have been found remains of the pier and plank 
road connecting with the original shore, built by Commodore Vander- 
bilt for his steam ferry to Staten Island.* 11 

46. Governor's Island. (Secure pass several days in advance 
from Commandant, Fort Jay.) 

The Indian name of the island (about 65 acres, exclusive of the recently 
"made land") was Paggaiick. and the Dutch Nooten, or Nut Island: it was 
bought in 1637 from the Indians by Wouter Van Twiller. Here he built a 
saw-mill and pastured goats. In 1698 it was set aside by the Assembly for 
the benefit of the royal governors, hence its present name. It was temporarily 
a quarantine station for German Protestants or Palatines in 1710. In 1730 it 
became part of New York City and in 1788 of the County of New York. In 
1755 Sir Wm. Pepperell's regnnent en route for Canada was quartered here. 
In April, 1776, Colonel Prescott's Bunker Hill regiment of Continental troops 
occupied the island and threw up fortifications which they held until after the 

34 



Island MANHATTAN 4 Route 

Battle of Long Island, when all retreated in safety to Manhattan. The Britisli 
held it from 1776 to 1783. Little remains of the old works except the well on 
the eastern side. In 1790 Columbia College was given jjossession of the island 
for a time with the right to lease it for a term of twenty-one years. The 
present fortifications were begun about 1794 and completed in 1812. Fort 
Columbus replaced part of the old works in 1809 and Castle Williams was com- 
pleted in 181 I. In 1800 the island was ceded by the State to the Federal gov- 
ernment, and in 1821 it became a military headquarters. In 1852 it was the 
chief depot of the United States Recruiting Service and military prisoners were 
confined here during the Civil War. In 1878 the island became the head- 
quarters of the Department of the East. 

Take Governor's Island Ferry, near the Barge Office. 

After landing, take central path, passing on the left the department 
offices and on the right piles of old ordnance. The Military Museum 
contains many relics of former wars. 

Fort Jay (old Fort Columbus) has a well preserved moat, draw- 
bridge, parapet and guns. The barracks here are still in use. 

Castle Williams is used as a miUtary prison.* 12 

Note the Saluting Battery on the south shore. Much land has 
been reclaimed from the bay. The South East Battery is a small 
work well preserved. 

The Chapel of St. Cornelius contains several trophies and com- 
memorative banners. The house of the Commander of the De- 
partment of the East is on the old Parade Ground, flanked by two 
cannon. 

Interesting water trips may also be made from the Battery to the 
Statue of Liberty (boats hourly, 25 cents), on Bedloe's or 
Liberty Island. This island was patented to Isaac Bedloe by Governor 
NicoU when it was known as Oyster Island (called for a short time 
Love Island). Captain Kennedy became the proprietor after the 
death of Bedloe. In 1758 the island was purchased by the city for a 
small-pox hospital. About 1800 it was ceded to the United States. 
Fort Wood was built here as a defence for the city. Within the 
star-shaped fort is the Statue of Liberty, by Bartholdi, completed in 
1883 and presented by France. The pedestal was erected by popular 
subscription in the United States ; the statue was unveiled in 1886. 
Note the view from the head of the statue over the Bay, Staten 
Island, Long Island, Manhattan and New Jersey.* 13 

Ellis Island (pass secured from the Commissioner of Immigration; 
boats frequently from Pier i. North River). 

In Dutch days this was a favorite resort for oyster feasts, hence 
called Oyster Island. Later it was known as Gibbet Island from 
the fact that a pirate by the name of Gibbs was hung there. It was 
sold by the State to the National Government in 1808 and was long 
occupied by a magazine. In 1891 it became an immigrant station and, 
after a fire in 1897, the present buildings were erected. 

35 



HISTORICAL GUIDE 




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— 


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-J 


>> 


U 


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- 


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u 


v 


X 


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36 



MANHATTAN 



ADDENDA— 1912 

* I. (p. 15) No. 13 Greenwich Street was once the United States 
Hotel: see marble pillars. 

No. 15 Greenwich Street was the Punta Rossa House, the name of 
which may still be deciphered. 

No. 27 Greenwich Street was an old mansion of which the massive 
fiont door remains. 

* la. (p. 17) The Stevens House was the original Delmonico's res- 
taurant. 

* 2. (p. 17) A stained glass window in the Bowling Green Building, by 
E. A. Abbey, represents Dutchmen rolling ninepins here, but there are 
no records to prove that no bowling was done here before 1732, when the 
English game was played. 

* 3. (p. 19) There are three tablets on the Custom House: 

(i) (on the west side of the entrance staircase), erected 1912 by the 
Order of the Alhambra, to mark the site of the first mass said on the 
island of Manhattan, in the Governor's residence, in 1683, by the Rev. 
Thomas Harvey, S.J., chaplain to Governor Dongan. 

(2) (next to i) erected by the New York State Society of the Order 
of Founders and Patriots of America in 1909, to mark the site of Fort 
Amsterdam, later Fort George, the exploration of the Hudson River, 
the founding of New Amsterdam, and the establishment of American 
independence; on the tablet is inscribed an outline of Fort George from 
a plan made in 1774 by Gerard Bancker. 

(3) (within the rotunda) erected by the Holland Society of New 
York, originally placed in 1890 on a building in Steamship Row, to mark 
the site of the first substantial church edifice on the island of Manhattan 
and of Government House. 

*4. (p. 20) Old buildings at Nos. i and 2 State Street, corner of White- 
hall, used until 1912 by the Seamen's Church Institute. These were 
residences of the Cole family before 1800 and are still owned by their 
descendants. 

The Eastern Hotel, one block below at No. i South Street, was a 
warehouse, originally two stories high, erected in 1796 by John Cole, 
flour merchant and captain of a packet ship. The beams are of solid 
mahogany brought over from South America in ballast. The building was 
reconstructed as a hotel and opened in 1822 as the Eagle Hotel under the 
management of Frank Foot, a relative of Daniel Webster. Here were 

37 



HISTORICAL GUIDE 

entertained Robert Fulton, Jenny Lind, Daniel Webster, Commodore 
Vanderbilt and other notables. 

' * 5. (p. 20) 12' Tablet in the court of the Produce Exchange, facing 
Stone Street, erected 1910 by the New York Schoolmasters' Club to mark 
the site of the school of Adam Roelandsen, 1638. 

* 6. (p. 25) It is claimed that the body of Lord Sterling has been 
removed from this grave. The body of Fulton is to be removed to the 
Fulton Water Gate on Riverside Drive. The body of Philip Kearny 
was removed April 11, 1912, to Arlington, Va., after. lying in state in 
Trinity Church and City Hall. The Statues of the Evangelists in the 
tower were the gift of Mr. and Mrs. Whitehouse; see tablet erected in 
the porch of the tower in 1901. 

* 7. (pp. 26 and 28) 23' Tablet at 48 Wall vStreet, erected 1909 by 
the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of New York to mark a bastion 
of the Wall. 

* 8. (p. 30) Lantern and Memorial Tablet to commemorate the 
fidelity of the oflFicers and crew of the steamer Titanic (destroyed 1912 
by an iceberg) to be erected by public subscription on the new building 
of the Seaman's Institute at the foot of Coenties Slip in 1912-13 

See good specimens of early cannon at No. 61 Front Street, between 
Old Slip and Cuyler's Alley. An old cannon is set in the ground at the 
corner of Water Street and Old Slip. 

* 9- (P- 33) Tablet on the west wall north of the entrance, erected 
1909 by the New York Zoological Society to mark events of importance 
in connection with the history of the Aquarium. 

Tablets within, erected by the City, to commemorate the acquisition, 
1896, of this building by the Park Department for an Aquarium 

* 10. (p. 33) 43' Statue of Verrazzano, east of the Aquarium, 
erected 1909, by Italian residents of New York City, to commemorate 
the visit of Veriazzano in 1524 to New York Harbor. 

* II. (p. 34) The present flagstaff was originally a steel mast from 
tlie 3'acht Constitution. 

* 12. (p. 35) Castle Williams was built ini8o9-i8ii by Gen. Jonathan 
Williams, Chief Engineer of the American Army, as a defence in the War 
of 1812. Gen. Williams also built or supervised the constniction of 
Castle Clinton and Fort Lafayette. 

* 13- (P- 35) Tablet witliin the entrance to the pedestal of the Statue 
of Liberty, erected by Georgina Schuyler to the memory of Emma 
Lazarus, who in 1883 wrote The New Colossus. 

33 



EXCURSION VII— 1912 EDITION 

This Excursion was first outlined in 1898 and has been reissued with 
additions and corrections three times (1905, 1908, and in book form 
in connection with the Historical Guide to the City of New York 
in 1910) making this the fifth edition. Credit for aid in preparing this 
edition is due to Messrs. Albert Ulmann, E. H. Hall, R. P. Bolton, and 
others. 

In this, the oldest portion of New York, interest naturally centres 
about Bowling Green, which has always been the heart of the metrop- 
olis. Few actual traces of colonial days remain, the destructive fires 
in 1776 and 1835 having swept away nearly all the old buildings; and 
land values in this part of IVIanhattan forbid the preservation of many 
historic landmarks. Fraunces Tavern (Excursion No. VI) is the only 
pre -Revolutionary building to survive and it has fortunately been pre- 
served and restored as an historical museum. But recent interest in 
local history has led to the erection of numerous tablets to recall scenes 
of the past; moreover, the preservation of Bo^wling Green and Battery 
Park, together with a number of buildings of the early 19th Century 
make it possible to reconstruct in imagination many pictures of early 
days. 



39 



LIBKHKY UJ- CONUKbSS 



PUBLICATIONS OF THE CITY 01ZJ 108 674 1 % 

(21 West 44th Street) 

HISTORICAL EXCURSION LEAFLETS 

* No. I. — City Hall to Wall Street, 20 pp., 2 cuts, 4 maps; 5 cents. Revised 1910. 

* No. II. — Greenwich Village and Lispenard's Meadows, 16 pp., 3 maps; s cents. 

* No. III. — The Bowery and East Side, 16 pp., 3 maps; 5 c^nts. 

* No. IV. — Central Park ta Kingsbridge, 20 pp., 5 maps; 5 cents. 

* No. V. — The 19th Centwy City; loth Street to i2Sth Street; 36 pp., 5 maps; 

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* No. VIII. — Historic Brooklyn, Part I, 12 pp., 4 maps, 2 cuts; 10 cents. 

* No. IX. — Historic Bronx, ^ pp., 9 maps, 3 cuts; 10 cents. Revised 1910. 

* No. X. — Historic Richmond! 24 pp., \maps;»io cents. 

* No. XI. — Historic Queens, 36 pp., 5 maps; 10 cents. 

* \o. XII. — Historic Brooklyn, Part II; 28 pp., 7 map.s; 10 cents. 

♦HISTORICAL GUIDE TO THE CITY OF NEW YORK 

Includes the above Excursion Leaflets, several appendices and an alphabetical 
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* Graphic Views of Government: to illustrate the relations of our National, 
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* N. Y. CUy Government Leaflets: 10 cents each. No. i. Municipal Govern- 
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of local history: 3; cents per set. 



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